Chapter 8 is the closing chapter of the story of Gideon: the great battle against Midian comes to an end, yet the kings Zevach and Tzalmuna remain at large. In this chapter we encounter Gideon's wisdom in calming the men of Ephraim, the refusal of the men of Sukkot and Penuel to give bread to the army, the judgment of the kings of Midian, Gideon's refusal to rule, and finally the making of the ephod, which became a snare for him and his household. We will follow the order of the pesukim, mainly according to the explanations of the Malbim.
The Complaint of the Men of Ephraim
וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵלָיו אִישׁ אֶפְרַיִם מָה הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה עָשִׂיתָ לָּנוּ לְבִלְתִּי קְרֹאות לָנוּ כִּי הָלַכְתָּ לְהִלָּחֵם בְּמִדְיָן וַיְרִיבוּן אִתּוֹ בְּחׇזְקָה׃ - And the men of Ephraim said to him: What is this thing you have done to us, that you did not call us when you went to fight against Midian? And they quarreled with him fiercely.
The men of Ephraim come with a complaint: at first, when Gideon summoned people to go out to battle, he called upon Naftali, Asher, and all of Menasheh, as we saw in the previous chapter: "וַיִּצְעַק אִישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל מִנַּפְתָּלִי וּמִן אָשֵׁר וּמִכָּל מְנַשֶּׁה", but Ephraim he did not call. Only at the end, after the main part of the battle had been won, did he send messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim, saying "רְדוּ לִקְרַאת מִדְיָן". About this they quarrel with him fiercely, for in their eyes it was a great disgrace that men go out to battle and they are not called.
First, consider how astonishing this is: today a person who did not receive a call up notice says thank God I was not sent, I slipped through the central computer, praise God for it is good. But for them, what is this, there was a war and we were not called?! And here their claim seems puzzling, as the commentators ask: after all, those whom Gideon called at first were all sent home, out of thirty two thousand only three hundred remained, one percent. If so, what is the complaint about? In the end no one was taken. What would you have wanted, to come and then walk back home on foot without a battle? Rather, their claim is: at the beginning you did not know that God would send them back, and at that moment when you called others and not us, that was an insult. True, in the end they returned home, but did you know in advance that they would return? If not, why did you not summon us?
וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵיהֶם מֶה עָשִׂיתִי עַתָּה כָּכֶם הֲלֹא טוֹב עֹלְלוֹת אֶפְרַיִם מִבְצִיר אֲבִיעֶזֶר׃ - And he said to them: What have I now done compared to you? Are not the gleanings of Ephraim better than the vintage of Aviezer?
Gideon says to them: why do you quarrel with me, because I took for myself the honor that I began the battle? After all, you finished it, and what I have done now is nothing compared to what you have done. And why does he stress "now"? Because it still remained to capture Zevach and Tzalmuna, and as long as they had not been taken, if one makes an interim reckoning of the situation at this moment, you have done more. Therefore he is careful to say "now", according to the situation up to this point.
And the parable: the vintager is the one who begins the grape harvest, while the gleanings are what remains in the vineyard at the end of the harvest, as the verse says "הֲלֹא יוֹתִיר עוֹלֵלוֹת". Gideon says: I only began the harvest, and what you did at the end, the gleanings and the deeds you performed at the last, are better than my entire vintage. In terms of the deeds themselves, even though you came only at the end, your deeds are far greater than mine, for you captured the princes of Midian. And of himself he says "בְצִיר אֲבִיעֶזֶר", for he was of the family of Aviezer.
בְּיֶדְכֶם נָתַן אֱלֹהִים אֶת שָׂרֵי מִדְיָן אֶת עֹרֵב וְאֶת זְאֵב וּמַה יָּכֹלְתִּי עֲשׂוֹת כָּכֶם אָז רָפְתָה רוּחָם מֵעָלָיו בְּדַבְּרוֹ הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה׃ - Into your hand God gave the princes of Midian, Orev and Ze'ev, and what was I able to do compared to you? Then their spirit toward him subsided when he spoke this word.
Gideon adds: into your hand God gave the princes of Midian, Orev and Ze'ev, and in this you displayed tremendous valor, to the point that the Holy One, blessed be He, delivered them into your hand. And as we explained, the Holy One, blessed be He, delivers the enemy specifically into the hand of people who are worthy of it, and the proof that you were worthy is that God delivered them into your hand. This is something I could not have done, only you could.
And the commentators note: see how wisely he dealt with them. Later in the book we will see an entirely similar story with Yiftach, and there the matter ended very badly. Here, because of his wise answer, "רָפְתָה רוּחָם", their spirit subsided and they calmed down. Had he begun to argue, "aren't you ashamed? I am here fighting the battle and you come with criticisms", the matter would have flared up. But he said to them: it is nothing, what are you talking about, you are far greater, what did I do, I did nothing, you did everything. Immediately they calmed down. From here there is a great lesson: one must know how to respond, and what is the proper time to respond to each matter.
The Men of Sukkot: the People and the Officials
וַיָּבֹא גִדְעוֹן הַיַּרְדֵּנָה עֹבֵר הוּא וּשְׁלֹשׁ מֵאוֹת הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר אִתּוֹ עֲיֵפִים וְרֹדְפִים׃ - And Gidon came to the Jordan, crossing over, he and the three hundred men who were with him, weary yet pursuing.
וַיֹּאמֶר לְאַנְשֵׁי סֻכּוֹת תְּנוּ נָא כִּכְּרוֹת לֶחֶם לָעָם אֲשֶׁר בְּרַגְלָי כִּי עֲיֵפִים הֵם וְאָנֹכִי רֹדֵף אַחֲרֵי זֶבַח וְצַלְמֻנָּע מַלְכֵי מִדְיָן׃ - And he said to the men of Succoth: Please give loaves of bread to the people who follow me, for they are weary, and I am pursuing Zevach and Tzalmuna, the kings of Midian.
Gidon reaches the Jordan, he and three hundred men, and the battle is not yet over: Orev and Ze'ev were the officers, and with them we are done, but Zevach and Tzalmuna are the kings, and the main task still lies before us. For if the kings remain alive, they organize the people for battle and there will be another campaign, whereas if you have eliminated the kings you know there will be quiet for a long time. Therefore he tells them: we have not yet finished the battle.
Succoth is the name of a place, and from there he requests loaves of bread. Note: this is not an organized army. Gidon gathered men to come to battle, and they presumably thought the food they had would suffice, but the war dragged on and they are weary, "and I am pursuing Zevach and Tzalmuna, the kings of Midian."
Here we must pay attention to the precision in the dialogue: the text alternates between "the men of Succoth" and "the officers of Succoth." The commentators did not turn their attention to this and did not explain the matter, and they apparently understood simply that sometimes the officers spoke and sometimes the men of the city, and that this is of no great importance. But the Malbim finds here a most wonderful precision, from which it becomes clear what exactly the demand was and, above all, to whom it was directed.
The Malbim says: "the men of Succoth" are the people, and "the officers of Succoth" are the officers, what today are called the city leaders. The obligation to give bread stems from two different reasons. The first is on account of the mitzvah of tzedakah: here are weary and hungry men, and every person is commanded to give charity to one who is hungry and weary, and this is an obligation upon each and every one of the people. The second is on account of the fact that we are an army at war, and this is a tax imposed upon the city to support the army that guards it. In this obligation the officers are the ones bound, for they administer the city and hold the public treasury, and they collect from the people. Therefore the demand to support the army is directed to the officers, and the demand to give charity is directed to each and every person.
Therefore at first it says "and he said to the men of Succoth," he turns first to the people: we are weary and pursuing, give us to eat, and one gives charity to those in need, and we are in need. And he further adds to them: we are messengers of a mitzvah, we are pursuing Zevach and Tzalmuna, and consequently the obligation to help us is even greater, for this is not merely a person in need but one in need who is engaged in the path of a mitzvah.
וַיֹּאמֶר שָׂרֵי סֻכּוֹת הֲכַף זֶבַח וְצַלְמֻנָּע עַתָּה בְּיָדֶךָ כִּי נִתֵּן לִצְבָאֲךָ לָחֶם׃ - And the officers of Succoth said: Are the hands of Zevach and Tzalmuna now in your grasp, that we should give bread to your army?
The Malbim says: from here we see that the people did not want to give him on account of charity, and therefore he turned to the officers. For since the officers answer, it is proven that a prior appeal was made to them. And to the officers he turned on account of obligation: from the people you can request charity, but in supporting the army the officers are obligated, it is part of their role, for the army guards the city. He said to them: what about your obligation to support us, since you are the officers and we are an army going out to fight, and I am pursuing Zevach and Tzalmuna?
The officers answered him: "Are the hands of Zevach and Tzalmuna now in your grasp?" That is: had you been an organized army, the king's army, we would have been obligated to support you. But what are you? Bands of volunteers going out to save the people. I respect and honor this, but who knows what will be in the end, perhaps you will save and perhaps you will not. On what basis should I give to you? If you are the king's army I am obligated to give, but if you are a local initiative of someone who raised a few battalions and is going out to fight, first show results. Conquer Zevach and Tzalmuna and then we will be obligated, for you have not yet defeated the enemy.
וַיֹּאמֶר גִּדְעוֹן לָכֵן בְּתֵת יְהוָה אֶת זֶבַח וְאֶת צַלְמֻנָּע בְּיָדִי וְדַשְׁתִּי אֶת בְּשַׂרְכֶם אֶת קוֹצֵי הַמִּדְבָּר וְאֶת הַבַּרְקֳנִים׃ - And Gidon said: Therefore, when Hashem delivers Zevach and Tzalmuna into my hand, I will thresh your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with the briers.
That is: when Hashem delivers Zevach and Tzalmuna into my hand, I will chastise you with the thorns of the wilderness and with the briers. And one may say simply that this is measure for measure: you want to dry us out, and we will thresh you with thorns and briers. And the commentators see here Gidon's complete faith: he does not say "if Hashem delivers into our hand," but rather "when Hashem delivers," Hashem will deliver them into our hand, with certainty. The future is entirely clear to him, and therefore he announces from now that he will yet return here to exact payment from them.
The men of Penuel and the tower
וַיַּעַל מִשָּׁם פְּנוּאֵל וַיְדַבֵּר אֲלֵיהֶם כָּזֹאת וַיַּעֲנוּ אוֹתוֹ אַנְשֵׁי פְנוּאֵל כַּאֲשֶׁר עָנוּ אַנְשֵׁי סֻכּוֹת׃ - And he went up from there to Penuel and spoke to them in the same way, and the men of Penuel answered him just as the men of Succoth had answered.
וַיֹּאמֶר גַּם לְאַנְשֵׁי פְנוּאֵל לֵאמֹר בְּשׁוּבִי בְשָׁלוֹם אֶתֹּץ אֶת הַמִּגְדָּל הַזֶּה׃ - And he said also to the men of Penuel, saying: When I return in peace, I will tear down this tower.
He goes to Penuel and hears the same tune: no one is willing to give and no one is willing to help. But here he threatens specifically to tear down the tower. Why? The Malbim explains: the men of Succoth still had a justification. They said: Midian rules over us, Gideon has come to fight them, perhaps he will win and perhaps he will not, so why should I take sides? If it turns out that Gideon does not win, woe to me from the army of Midian, they will say that we helped Gideon's men against them and they will destroy us. Therefore I stand in the middle and do not get involved.
But the men of Penuel, says the Malbim, did not have this reason, for they were not afraid or fearful of Midian, since they had a tower. A strong tower is a hiding place and a shield that would protect and guard them even if Midian wanted to attack. If so, you can help me freely and without concern. And if you do not help, this will be measure for measure: you refuse to help because you say, "I do not fear you and I do not fear them, I have a tower," and so, I will tear down your tower.
The battle against Zevach and Tzalmuna
וְזֶבַח וְצַלְמֻנָּע בַּקַּרְקֹר וּמַחֲנֵיהֶם עִמָּם כַּחֲמֵשֶׁת עָשָׂר אֶלֶף כֹּל הַנּוֹתָרִים מִכֹּל מַחֲנֵה בְנֵי קֶדֶם וְהַנֹּפְלִים מֵאָה וְעֶשְׂרִים אֶלֶף אִישׁ שֹׁלֵף חָרֶב׃ - Now Zevach and Tzalmuna were in Karkor, and their camps with them, about fifteen thousand, all that were left of the entire camp of the people of the east, for those who had fallen were a hundred and twenty thousand men who drew the sword.
From here we understand how many were involved: a hundred and thirty-five thousand men, and facing them three hundred men. By God's kindness, a hundred and twenty thousand had already fallen, and what remained now was fifteen thousand.
וַיַּעַל גִּדְעוֹן דֶּרֶךְ הַשְּׁכוּנֵי בׇאֳהָלִים מִקֶּדֶם לְנֹבַח וְיׇגְבְּהָה וַיַּךְ אֶת הַמַּחֲנֶה וְהַמַּחֲנֶה הָיָה בֶטַח׃ - And Gideon went up by the way of those who dwell in tents, east of Novach and Yogbeha, and he struck the camp, and the camp was secure.
"By the way of those who dwell in tents," Rashi explains: by the way of the land of Kedar and Arav, who dwell in the wilderness in their tents. "East of Novach and Yogbeha" these are cities of Israel, and he went to their east and did not want to pass through them, but went by a roundabout way so that he could take them by surprise, in a manner where they would not be prepared and would not be expecting him.
וַיָּנֻסוּ זֶבַח וְצַלְמֻנָּע וַיִּרְדֹּף אַחֲרֵיהֶם וַיִּלְכֹּד אֶת שְׁנֵי מַלְכֵי מִדְיָן אֶת זֶבַח וְאֶת צַלְמֻנָּע וְכׇל הַמַּחֲנֶה הֶחֱרִיד׃ - And Zevach and Tzalmuna fled, and he pursued them and captured the two kings of Midian, Zevach and Tzalmuna, and he threw the entire camp into panic.
וַיָּשׇׁב גִּדְעוֹן בֶּן יוֹאָשׁ מִן הַמִּלְחָמָה מִלְמַעֲלֵה הֶחָרֶס׃ - And Gideon son of Yoash returned from the battle by the ascent of Cheres.
Zevach and Tzalmuna flee, Gidon pursues and captures them, and the entire camp he "threw into panic," meaning he startled them and put them to flight. And what is the meaning of "from above the Cheres"? The Malbim says that this time too he pursued them all night, as he had the first time. The reason: when you are strong enough you can also fight by day, and when you are not strong enough you must exploit the element of surprise, and this is only possible at night. And since you have three hundred men against tens and hundreds of thousands, you have no choice but to fight under cover of darkness.
"Cheres" is the sun, as we find with Shimshon "before the sun (haCharsah) came," meaning before the sun set. So too Yehoshua was buried in "Timnat Cheres," which means that they set up for him an image of cheres, an image of the sun, upon his grave, to say: this is the man who merited and made the sun stand still. Here too, the meaning is that he fell upon the camp at night and managed to return before the sunrise began.
The Reckoning with the Men of Sukkot
וַיִּלְכׇּד נַעַר מֵאַנְשֵׁי סֻכּוֹת וַיִּשְׁאָלֵהוּ וַיִּכְתֹּב אֵלָיו אֶת שָׂרֵי סֻכּוֹת וְאֶת זְקֵנֶיהָ שִׁבְעִים וְשִׁבְעָה אִישׁ׃ - And he caught a lad of the men of Sukkot and questioned him, and he wrote down for him the officers of Sukkot and its elders, seventy seven men.
וַיָּבֹא אֶל אַנְשֵׁי סֻכּוֹת וַיֹּאמֶר הִנֵּה זֶבַח וְצַלְמֻנָּע אֲשֶׁר חֵרַפְתֶּם אוֹתִי לֵאמֹר הֲכַף זֶבַח וְצַלְמֻנָּע עַתָּה בְּיָדֶךָ כִּי נִתֵּן לַאֲנָשֶׁיךָ הַיְּעֵפִים לָחֶם׃ - And he came to the men of Sukkot and said, Behold Zevach and Tzalmuna, about whom you taunted me saying, Is the palm of Zevach and Tzalmuna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your weary men.
Gidon meets a lad of the men of Sukkot and asks him to write down the names of the officers of Sukkot and its elders, and the lad records for him seventy seven men. And why specifically a lad? Because a lad speaks innocently and writes the truth. Had this been an adult, he would have put one in and left another out, according to his own calculations.
At first Gidon wanted to punish the officers of Sukkot, for it was to them that he had turned and they had refused. But at a certain point he thought it over and understood that seemingly the officers did not deserve punishment, because the officers of Sukkot were until then subject to the hand of Midyan. Now Gidon comes and makes a revolution: if he succeeds, all is well and good, but if he does not succeed, woe to us from Midyan, for we would have aided the rebellion. If so, the officers had grounds to be afraid whether to help and take the risk that he would fall and they would fall with him. Therefore he identified with their fear. And they also had a justified argument: you have not yet brought the palm of Zevach and Tzalmuna, you have not yet conquered them, so why should we give to you on the basis of the future? Had we sent you as our own soldier, we would have had to provide for the army in advance, but you raised an army by yourself, and you came on the assumption that you would succeed. First, who says you will succeed, and second, when you succeed, come and ask for your wage; why do you ask now?
But against the men of Sukkot, the people, he had a solid argument: you are obligated in the mitzvah of charity like every person, and I came and told you that there are hungry, pursued men here, give me charity. Therefore he explains that the reason he exacts payment from them is because "you taunted me." And look carefully and see: the officers said "that we should give bread to your army," for it was to them that he turned regarding the obligation to maintain the army, whereas here he quotes "that we should give bread to your weary men," for it was to the people that he turned regarding charity to the weary. From here it is clear that it was they who made this argument. He said to them: you do not give charity, and that is a disgrace. To say "why on earth should we give to you, is the palm of Zevach and Tzalmuna in your hand" is a disgrace, and for this you deserve punishment.
וַיִּקַּח אֶת זִקְנֵי הָעִיר וְאֶת קוֹצֵי הַמִּדְבָּר וְאֶת הַבַּרְקֳנִים וַיֹּדַע בָּהֶם אֵת אַנְשֵׁי סֻכּוֹת׃ - And he took the elders of the city and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught a lesson to the men of Sukkot.
The Malbim has an original explanation here: the argument is not against the elders and officers, so what is the meaning of "he taught a lesson"? Rather, he exacts payment from the men of the city through their elders, meaning he had the elders exact it from them and flog them. This is what is written, "And he took the elders of the city and thorns of the wilderness and briers," and with thorns and briers they flog the men of Sukkot, and the elders are the ones who chastise them for having withheld bread from hungry men.
Incidentally, from this we learn that it was accepted in their times that one tribe does not interfere in the judgment and law of another tribe. This becomes clearly apparent in the episode of the concubine at Givah, where the men of the tribe of Binyamin did not at all like that another tribe would come to render judgment upon their people. Each tribe had its own Sanhedrin and its own court, and if there is a problem, turn to us. And this further explains why Gidon called specifically upon the elders, so that they would be the ones to chastise the men of their own tribe.
וְאֶת מִגְדַּל פְּנוּאֵל נָתָץ וַיַּהֲרֹג אֶת אַנְשֵׁי הָעִיר׃ - And the tower of Penuel he tore down, and he killed the men of the city.
The men of Penuel spoke in the same manner, and to them he promised to destroy the tower, and this fortress he tore down. But why did he kill the men of the city, for he did not promise to do that? The Radak explains that it is very possible that when he came to tear down the tower they expressed opposition and fought against him, and as a result of the battle he also killed the men of the city.
The Malbim explains differently: when he said "I will tear down this tower," it was not only about the tower, but included also exacting punishment from them, with the additional point that the tower too would be torn down. And the reason: the men of Sukkot said that they were afraid that Midian would come tomorrow and strike them if Gideon failed, but you have no such argument, for you have a fortress. If Midian comes they will not be able to do anything to you, since you enter into the fortress and they cannot exact anything from you. If so, the claim against you is far more severe: why did you not come to help, why did you not give bread? Therefore the punishment will be accordingly, and he killed the men of the city, and the tower in which you trusted he tore down.
The Judgment of Zevach and Tzalmuna
וַיֹּאמֶר אֶל זֶבַח וְאֶל צַלְמֻנָּע אֵיפֹה הָאֲנָשִׁים אֲשֶׁר הֲרַגְתֶּם בְּתָבוֹר וַיֹּאמְרוּ כָּמוֹךָ כְמוֹהֶם אֶחָד כְּתֹאַר בְּנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ׃ - And he said to Zevach and to Tzalmuna: Where are the men whom you killed at Tavor? And they said: As you are, so were they, each one like the form of the sons of the king.
After he captured them, Gideon asks: Where are the men whom you killed at Tavor? He brings a claim against them about something. And they answer him a reply that seemingly sounds like a justification: "As you are, so were they," and it is not understood what the connection is between his claim and their answer.
The Malbim explains: when Zevach and Tzalmuna fled in order to cross the Jordan, they passed through Tavor, and there they killed Gideon's brothers, and it is about them that Gideon now comes to bring a claim against them. And the Malbim adds a principle: it is among the laws of nations that one does not kill kings who have been defeated and conquered in war unless there is a claim against them. What claim? For example, "Why did you rebel against me," that I ruled over you and appointed you as governor and you rose up and rebelled. But to kill a king with no reason, by the laws of nations this was not done.
If so, Zevach and Tzalmuna were lords of the land and they were the rulers here, so how could Gideon simply seize them and kill them? That is an act against the laws, the UN and The Hague would intervene, and this is a blatantly unlawful situation. Therefore what he must do is judge them, establish a court to deliberate and pass judgment on them, and then their death would come to them lawfully. And on what does he judge them? On the fact that they killed his brothers: why did you kill the men at Tavor?
And what do they reply? "As you are, so were they," meaning: you yourself are liable to death, for you rebelled against us, and one who rebels against the rule of rulers like us is liable to death. And they were rebels against us just like you, and "like the form of the sons of the king," they behaved with the tactics of royalty and with royal conduct, and we were certain that they were your children. If so, just as you are liable to death in our eyes as one who rebels against the kingdom, since we are the rulers here, so too are they, the sons of the king, liable to death, for they are the sons of the ruler and among those who rebel against us. If so, there is legitimacy for what we did.
וַיֹּאמַר אַחַי בְּנֵי אִמִּי הֵם חַי יְהוָה לוּ הַחֲיִתֶם אוֹתָם לֹא הָרַגְתִּי אֶתְכֶם׃ - And he said: They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As the Lord lives, had you let them live, I would not kill you.
Gideon says to them: They are not my sons at all, but my brothers, the sons of my mother. Therefore I swear to you, as the Lord lives, had you let them live, that is, not killed them, I would not be able to kill you now without a trial, for death would not have been deserved by you. But since you murdered innocent men, I am therefore also able to kill you lawfully.
וַיֹּאמֶר לְיֶתֶר בְּכוֹרוֹ קוּם הֲרֹג אוֹתָם וְלֹא שָׁלַף הַנַּעַר חַרְבּוֹ כִּי יָרֵא כִּי עוֹדֶנּוּ נָעַר׃ - And he said to Yeter his firstborn: Arise, kill them. But the youth did not draw his sword, for he was afraid, because he was still a youth.
He commands Yeter his firstborn to kill them. And why Yeter specifically? Because he is the redeemer of the blood: these men killed your uncles, my brothers the sons of my mother, and since this is so, you are the redeemer of the blood, my son Yeter, arise and kill them.
וַיֹּאמֶר זֶבַח וְצַלְמֻנָּע קוּם אַתָּה וּפְגַע בָּנוּ כִּי כָאִישׁ גְּבוּרָתוֹ וַיָּקׇם גִּדְעוֹן וַיַּהֲרֹג אֶת זֶבַח וְאֶת צַלְמֻנָּע וַיִּקַּח אֶת הַשַּׂהֲרֹנִים אֲשֶׁר בְּצַוְּארֵי גְמַלֵּיהֶם׃ - And Zevach and Tzalmuna said: Rise you and fall upon us, for as the man is, so is his strength. And Gideon rose and slew Zevach and Tzalmuna, and took the crescents that were on the necks of their camels.
The Metzudat David explains "as the man is, so is his strength": in proportion to the size of the man is the extent of his strength. A small man has small strength, a lad has small strength, and a great man has great strength. Since this is so, when the lad strikes us there is a chance he will not manage to kill with a single blow, and then he will strike us again and again, and we will die amid suffering. It is better that you kill us, and according to your strength you will put us to death with one blow, so that our death will not be in agony.
There is another reason in "as the man is, so is his strength": it is a disgrace for a king to die at the hand of a lad, that a small youth struck him down. Later we will see something similar, that when a woman kills a man it is an even greater disgrace, for he fell by the hand of a woman. It emerges that the manner of death also mattered to them, to die "in style," not merely to die but to care also about how they die. Therefore they said to him: it is better that you fall upon us, for you are a king and a great man, and thus the matter is more fitting.
The Malbim explains "for as the man is, so is his strength": that the act of might must be measured against the man performing the act of might. To slay kings of the land is fitting for a mighty man, and it is not fitting to hand this over to a child. In other words, the act of might should correspond to his strength, and therefore you are the man suited to slay kings of the land, and not a young lad.
"Rule over us" and Gideon's Refusal
וַיֹּאמְרוּ אִישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל גִּדְעוֹן מְשָׁל בָּנוּ גַּם אַתָּה גַּם בִּנְךָ גַּם בֶּן בְּנֶךָ כִּי הוֹשַׁעְתָּנוּ מִיַּד מִדְיָן׃ - And the men of Israel said to Gideon: Rule over us, both you and your son and your son's son, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.
After the salvation was completed, and Gideon, through the kindness of Hashem, brought about a total deliverance, the men of Israel come and say to him: Rule over us. The period is a time when there was no king in Israel and each man did what was right in his own eyes, and it was the Judges who saved Israel from time to time from the hand of their pursuers. Since they saw here a worthy and upright man, they said: at last we have someone who can lead us.
Their request contains two matters. "Rule over us, you too," because you are worthy of it: you have experience, you have proven leadership, you were capable and you saved us from the hand of Midian. "Also your son and your son's son," and this is as a sign of gratitude. For when I say that you shall rule, that is because you have proven your abilities, but your son and your son's son, what have they proven? Rather this is on account of "for you have saved us from the hand of Midian," that a reward is due to you, and the reward is that your sons too will rule after you even though they have not proven prior abilities.
וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם גִּדְעוֹן לֹא אֶמְשֹׁל אֲנִי בָּכֶם וְלֹא יִמְשֹׁל בְּנִי בָּכֶם יְהוָה יִמְשֹׁל בָּכֶם׃ - And Gideon said to them: I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; Hashem shall rule over you.
Gideon refuses, and returns everything to the Holy One, blessed be He.
The Rings and the Ephod
וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם גִּדְעוֹן אֶשְׁאֲלָה מִכֶּם שְׁאֵלָה וּתְנוּ לִי אִישׁ נֶזֶם שְׁלָלוֹ כִּי נִזְמֵי זָהָב לָהֶם כִּי יִשְׁמְעֵאלִים הֵם׃ - And Gideon said to them: I will make one request of you, that each man give me the ring of his spoil, for they had golden rings, because they were Ishmaelites.
He asks for only one thing: that each person give him a nose ring from the spoils. In fact Gideon acted with great magnanimity here, for as a king and commander Gideon was entitled to fifty percent of the spoils, since this was the accepted custom in their times: fifty for the king and fifty for the people. And he says to them: I do not even ask for that, my entire request is one nose ring from each man of the spoils that was plundered.
"כִּי יִשְׁמְעֵאלִים הֵם" sounds strange, for until now we spoke of a war against Midian, so how did the people of Midian become Ishmaelites? The commentators explain: Midian descended from the sons of Keturah, and Ishmael from Hagar, so they were kinsmen, and they had one custom and one practice of placing a ring in the nose. If so, "they are Ishmaelites" means that they followed the way of the Ishmaelites, who used to place rings in their noses. Another explanation: the Midianites behaved like Ishmaelites and mingled with them, as we see with the caravan that brought Joseph down to Egypt, "וַיַּעַבְרוּ אֲנָשִׁים מִדְיָנִים" and they sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites, for they were one company together. Since that is so, based on the custom of the nose rings you can define Midian as Ishmaelites, since they were joined together with them.
וַיֹּאמְרוּ נָתוֹן נִתֵּן וַיִּפְרְשׂוּ אֶת הַשִּׂמְלָה וַיַּשְׁלִיכוּ שָׁמָּה אִישׁ נֶזֶם שְׁלָלוֹ׃ - And they said: We will surely give. And they spread out a garment, and every man cast there a nose ring from his spoils.
וַיְהִי מִשְׁקַל נִזְמֵי הַזָּהָב אֲשֶׁר שָׁאָל אֶלֶף וּשְׁבַע מֵאוֹת זָהָב לְבַד מִן הַשַּׂהֲרֹנִים וְהַנְּטִיפוֹת וּבִגְדֵי הָאַרְגָּמָן שֶׁעַל מַלְכֵי מִדְיָן וּלְבַד מִן הָעֲנָקוֹת אֲשֶׁר בְּצַוְּארֵי גְמַלֵּיהֶם׃ - And the weight of the golden nose rings that he requested was a thousand seven hundred shekels of gold, apart from the crescents and the pendants and the purple garments that were on the kings of Midian, and apart from the chains that were on the necks of their camels.
They reply that they will certainly give, and with joy, they spread out the garment and each one casts into it a nose ring from the spoils. The weight of the golden nose rings was a thousand seven hundred shekels of gold, an enormous amount, and this was apart from the crescents, which is a type of ornament shaped like a crescent, that is, in the shape of the moon. And this is very interesting, for he says "they are Ishmaelites," and here we see that already then the Ishmaelites had symbols of the crescent and the moon. "And the pendants" is the name of an ornament that drips down and hangs opposite the heart. "The chains that were on the necks of their camels" are ornaments that they would place on the neck of the camel, for when they went out to war they would make decorations even for the animals, as part of the ornaments of battle.
And why is an anak (chain) called anak? The Sages say that great men are called anakim (giants) because they block out the sun with their height, and this is incidentally the source of the term "anak" as a necklace. The meaning is: if you, the short one, are standing and opposite you stands the giant with the sun shining behind him, the giant blocks the sun, and when the sun is opposite his neck it appears like an anak on his neck, like a golden necklace around the neck, for the neck blocks the sun and you see the rays on both sides. From here comes the term anak for an ornament placed on the neck, as in the language "וַעֲנָקִים לְגַרְגְּרֹתֶיךָ" (and chains for your neck).
וַיַּעַשׂ אוֹתוֹ גִדְעוֹן לְאֵפוֹד וַיַּצֵּג אוֹתוֹ בְעִירוֹ בְּעׇפְרָה וַיִּזְנוּ כׇל יִשְׂרָאֵל אַחֲרָיו שָׁם וַיְהִי לְגִדְעוֹן וּלְבֵיתוֹ לְמוֹקֵשׁ׃ - And Gideon made it into an ephod, and set it up in his city, in Ophrah, and all Israel went astray after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his house.
Why did he ask for the nose rings? The prophet tells you: Gideon wanted to make from them an ephod, a special ornament in memory of the miracle. The purpose was to remind everyone that the Holy One, blessed be He, saved us in a wondrous way and redeemed us from the hand of Midian, and this ephod was a kind of monument that everyone would remember. And see from what it was made: from what we plundered of the spoils of Midian, and there is nothing that would recall the miracle more than this. Just as they made a Torah scroll from nose rings and all sorts of earrings that penitents removed, which is something that recalls Hashem's kindness, to see that people merited to repent and dedicated these things to the name of Hashem. So too here, that through this people would remember the tremendous miracle that the Holy One, blessed be He, performed.
But come and see: "וַיִּזְנוּ כׇל יִשְׂרָאֵל אַחֲרָיו" (and all Israel went astray after it). Since they saw an ephod here, the ephod became a source of the people's error, for they saw in it an idol and would bow down to it and worship it, as if it had powers. And this caused that "וַיְהִי לְגִדְעוֹן וּלְבֵיתוֹ לְמוֹקֵשׁ" (and it became a snare to Gideon and to his house), for we will see later that Gideon's sons were killed, and on account of what? On account of the snare that was created for all of Israel through that ephod that he made, which became a stumbling block for them.
And why was an ephod even needed at all? The Sages say: because the tribe of Manasseh does not appear among the stones of the breastplate that is on the ephod, and therefore they wanted to make for themselves an ephod that would be theirs too, like that ephod in the Temple, through which they would receive answers to questions by means of the breastplate, and here they would have an ephod of their own. And another point: the original ephod was in Shiloh, and he wanted there to be one also in Ophrah, and therefore he went and made himself an ephod.
Gideon and Choni HaMe'agel
The Rema of Fano writes in his book "Gilgulei Neshamot," in letter chet, that Choni HaMe'agel is Gideon. And just as Gideon made an ephod, and even though he intended it for the sake of Heaven we see that the house of Israel went astray after it, and in some way it caused a stumbling block, therefore he died during his lifetime. And how long was he dead during his lifetime? Seventy years. For seventy years Choni HaMe'agel was dead during his lifetime, that is, he slept, and a man who sleeps for seventy years, it turns out that for seventy years of his life he was, at that time, dead. And indeed afterward, only a short period, he died completely, for he saw that he had no one to speak with and said "either companionship or death" and requested his death. It turns out that he had seventy years of death corresponding to the stumbling block that he made, and sleep is one sixtieth of death, sleep is a fraction of death, as the Sages say.
And why did he ask for death? Because there was someone else in history who asked for death and that the Holy One, blessed be He, take his soul, and that was Eliyahu, who asked for his own death, saying his death was better than his life. And the Rama of Fano says that Choni HaMe'agel also had a spark of Eliyahu the prophet, and there was also in him a reincarnation of Gidon, and also a spark of Mordechai.
The final days of Gidon
וַיִּכָּנַע מִדְיָן לִפְנֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְלֹא יָסְפוּ לָשֵׂאת רֹאשָׁם וַתִּשְׁקֹט הָאָרֶץ אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה בִּימֵי גִדְעוֹן׃ - And Midian was subdued before the children of Israel, and they lifted up their heads no more, and the land was quiet forty years in the days of Gidon.
Forty years, together with the seven years of subjugation that preceded them, the land was quiet, and the children of Midian lifted their heads no more, they did not rise up to fight against us during this entire period.
וַיֵּלֶךְ יְרֻבַּעַל בֶּן יוֹאָשׁ וַיֵּשֶׁב בְּבֵיתוֹ׃ - And Yerubaal the son of Yoash went and dwelt in his own house.
וּלְגִדְעוֹן הָיוּ שִׁבְעִים בָּנִים יֹצְאֵי יְרֵכוֹ כִּי נָשִׁים רַבּוֹת הָיוּ לוֹ׃ - And Gidon had seventy sons who came from his own body, for he had many wives.
Gidon is Yerubaal, and he goes and dwells in his house, meaning he no longer needed to fight. And since he sat in his house and did not toil in leading the people, he had rest. And what did this rest bring about? That when a person is busy he has no time to marry so many wives, but when a person dwells at rest, what is there for him to do? He had money, he had everything, and he gathered many wives, and from them he fathered seventy sons.
וּפִילַגְשׁוֹ אֲשֶׁר בִּשְׁכֶם יָלְדָה לּוֹ גַם הִיא בֵּן וַיָּשֶׂם אֶת שְׁמוֹ אֲבִימֶלֶךְ׃ - And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he named him Avimelech.
A concubine is a woman set apart for a man without a ketubah and without kiddushin. She too bore him a son, and he named him Avimelech, and we will see further on that this son caused great troubles.
וַיָּמׇת גִּדְעוֹן בֶּן יוֹאָשׁ בְּשֵׂיבָה טוֹבָה וַיִּקָּבֵר בְּקֶבֶר יוֹאָשׁ אָבִיו בְּעׇפְרָה אֲבִי הָעֶזְרִי׃ - And Gidon the son of Yoash died at a good old age, and was buried in the tomb of Yoash his father, in Ofrah of the Avi HaEzri.
וַיְהִי כַּאֲשֶׁר מֵת גִּדְעוֹן וַיָּשׁוּבוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיִּזְנוּ אַחֲרֵי הַבְּעָלִים וַיָּשִׂימוּ לָהֶם בַּעַל בְּרִית לֵאלֹהִים׃ - And it came to pass, as soon as Gidon was dead, that the children of Israel again went astray after the Baalim, and made Baal-berith their god.
Gidon died, and the children of Israel again go after the Baalim, and "Baal-berith" was the name of that idol which they made into a god for themselves. And as we saw at the beginning of the book, sometimes only upon the death of the judge did Israel turn from their way, and sometimes even during the judge's lifetime, while he was still alive, Israel had already turned from the way. But here it was only after his death.
"And they did not remember" and "they did not show kindness"
וְלֹא זָכְרוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיהֶם הַמַּצִּיל אוֹתָם מִיַּד כׇּל אֹיְבֵיהֶם מִסָּבִיב׃ - And the children of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hand of all their enemies on every side.
וְלֹא עָשׂוּ חֶסֶד עִם בֵּית יְרֻבַּעַל גִּדְעוֹן כְּכׇל הַטּוֹבָה אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה עִם יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - Nor did they show kindness to the house of Yerubaal, that is Gideon, for all the good that he had done for Israel.
This deliverance had both a miraculous dimension and, seemingly, a natural one. The miracles that the Holy One, blessed be He, performed here were above nature: how they managed to throw the camp of Midyan into panic, how they pursued them, how they killed them, and all of this with three hundred men against a people who were as numerous as the sand on the seashore. There was here a miracle and a wonder. Yet they did not remember the Lord who delivered them from the hand of all their enemies on every side, they did not remember the supernatural miracles that He performed for them.
And if you do not remember the supernatural miracles, to whom do you attribute the deliverance? To Gideon. What a commander, Gideon fought, Gideon conquered, Gideon succeeded. Well then, if you attribute the matter to nature and to Gideon's might, at the very least remember Gideon's might and show kindness to his house. It turns out that they were ungrateful both to the Holy One, blessed be He, and to Gideon, and this is a grave offense. And we will see further on how greatly they sinned against the house of Yerubaal, that is Gideon, and what an outrageous act they committed against his family, which proves that not only did they fail to show kindness but they even acted cruelly toward his family.
And why does he call him here "the house of Yerubaal, that is Gideon"? Because this itself is the reason why they did not show him kindness. For here they went astray after the Baalim and made Baal Berit their god, they worshiped the Baal, and Gideon was among the greatest of those who opposed the Baal, which is why he was called Yerubaal, meaning "let the Baal contend against him." And if the Baal was to contend against him, they no longer saw any need to show him kindness, for he was an opponent of the god they now served, and so they had no interest in repaying him good.
In summary:
Chapter 8 concludes the account of Gideon along three central lines. First, the wisdom of leadership: from his gentle reply to the men of Ephraim we learned that one must know what to answer and when to answer, and because of this their anger subsided, unlike what would later occur with Yiftach. Second, law and justice: from the fine distinction between "the men of Sukkot" and "the officials of Sukkot" we learned that Gideon distinguished between the obligation of charity that applies to every person and the obligation to support the army that applies to the officials, and therefore he exacted punishment from the people and not from the officials, and he even did so through the elders of the tribe themselves. So too in the judgment of Zevach and Tzalmuna, whom he did not kill until it became clear that they were liable to death for the murder of his brothers. And third, the light and the shadow: Gideon refused to reign and returned the kingship to the Holy One, blessed be He, but the ephod that he made in memory of the miracle became a snare to him and to his house. And finally, the ingratitude of Israel, who did not remember the Lord and did not show kindness to the house of Gideon, is the opening to the calamity about which we will read in the next chapter.